Disney Skyliner (Gondola Transportation System) Read Post 1 Now Open!

[rteetz]

College program kids got their notices today for August and many were assigned to the Skyliner.

 

[OKW Lover]

College program kids got their notices today for August and many were assigned to the Skyliner.

Wondering if that indicates actual Skyliner operations or pre-operational training.

 

[22Tink]

College program kids got their notices today for August and many were assigned to the Skyliner.

I hope that’s a good sign for our August trip!!

 

[jhoannam]

College program kids got their notices today for August and many were assigned to the Skyliner.

so when exactly does the college program start?

 

[rteetz]

so when exactly does the college program start?

I don't have a specific date just August.

 

[Chrisvee]

I was kinda shocked at how low they are over the water at PoP/AOA. Not in a bad way, it was just lower than I imagined.

I totally agree!

I also saw them testing at DHS in May. I was surprised they weren’t that far off the ground.

This is so exciting!

 

[The Pho]

Wondering if that indicates actual Skyliner operations or pre-operational training.

Well industry standard is an 8 hour day for training so probably the whole month for Disney to train them.

 

[OKW Lover]

so when exactly does the college program start?

There isn't a particular date that the CP's start. They bring in groups of them at various times throughout the year. When you think about it, that makes more sense so that you don't have to train 5K (my estimate) people at once.

 

[NoTime42]

Still surprised to see the support posts (especially on the way to Boardwalk) just look like patchy Bondo and primer.

Hope till get to see them move this trip. So far they have always been stationary...but at least there are unwrapped cars.
Edit: yeah! They started them up as I walked into Epcot!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

some live video at the skyliners at Hourglass Lake

 

[scrappinginontario]

some live video at the skyliners at Hourglass Lake

What I'm liking looking at this video is that it's easy to see from the surface of the water and the sound of the wind that it's a windy time yet the gondolas are pretty much still. And, this is with them empty! For the people who are concerned that they'll be swinging all over in the wind, hopefully this helps put their mind at ease, if even a little bit.

 

[NoTime42]

What I'm liking looking at this video is that it's easy to see from the surface of the water and the sound of the wind that it's a windy time yet the gondolas are pretty much still. And, this is with them empty! For the people who are concerned that they'll be swinging all over in the wind, hopefully this helps put their mind at ease, if even a little bit.

The stationary ones over Epcot right now are swaying more than I thought from previous posts. I’d still consider this breeze, not wind (most trees aren’t moving much)

 

[OKW Lover]

That doesn't really look like a lot of movement. Depending on when it was taken today, there was quite the thunderstorm blowing through just 30 minutes ago. I wonder how they looked then.

 

[NoTime42]

That doesn't really look like a lot of movement. Depending on when it was taken today, there was quite the thunderstorm blowing through just 30 minutes ago. I wonder how they looked then.

It’s not a ton of sway, but since I expect the gondola to operate in actual wind, there should be a lot more sway in different conditions...and that could make a lot of guests uncomfortable.

That was well before the thunderstorm. (I finished the full friendship boat ride and made it into TSL before the storm)
It would have been interesting to see during the storm.

 

[rteetz]

It’s not a ton of sway, but since I expect the gondola to operate in actual wind, there should be a lot more sway in different conditions...and that could make a lot of guests uncomfortable.

That was well before the thunderstorm. (I finished the full friendship boat ride and made it into TSL before the storm)
It would have been interesting to see during the storm.

I would expect some of the movement to be dampened when people are on board.

 

[OSUZorba]

It’s not a ton of sway, but since I expect the gondola to operate in actual wind, there should be a lot more sway in different conditions...and that could make a lot of guests uncomfortable.

That was well before the thunderstorm. (I finished the full friendship boat ride and made it into TSL before the storm)
It would have been interesting to see during the storm.

I'm pretty sure they sway more when not moving than while moving. They would definitely appear to sway less while moving.

 

[Spaceguy55]

Yes...but which sway is better ?

 

[DanBoris]

Still surprised to see the support posts (especially on the way to Boardwalk) just look like patchy Bondo and primer.

Hope till get to see them move this trip. So far they have always been stationary...but at least there are unwrapped cars.
Edit: yeah! They started them up as I walked into Epcot!

They are galvanized steel so they don't have to be painted.

 

[Spaceguy55]

Here's the technical reason why they will never be painted:

Is it possible to paint galvanized steel?

Alkyd/oil paints that are applied to galvanized metal will adhere initially, but will quickly fail. The zinc of the galvanizing will chemically react with the alkyd binder of the paint, creating a "soapy" film (saponification) on the galvanized metal and causing the coating to peel.

Also ask the Florida dept of transportation..FDOT why it's not a good idea.
They installed heavy duty street light fixtures that were galvanized and then painted... I believe after hurricane Andrew, and they started peeling in about a month.

 

[OSUZorba]

Here's the technical reason why they will never be painted:

Is it possible to paint galvanized steel?

Alkyd/oil paints that are applied to galvanized metal will adhere initially, but will quickly fail. The zinc of the galvanizing will chemically react with the alkyd binder of the paint, creating a "soapy" film (saponification) on the galvanized metal and causing the coating to peel.

Also ask the Florida dept of transportation..FDOT why it's not a good idea.
They installed heavy duty street light fixtures that were galvanized and then painted... I believe after hurricane Andrew, and they started peeling in about a month.

And galvanizing is much better protection for the base steel than paint and will require much less maintenance. It's just uglier and more expensive upfront.